Several Senate Republicans blamed the House for delays and suggested the Senate move forward independently with budget adjustments.

"Split Ways & Means, get the Senate to vote on these bills, preserve some decorum for this body and end this session on a good note," said Sen. Tim Knopp, R-Bend. "I am concerned that this building is going to melt down today because of the actions that are going to take place today."

The Senate, after an extensive partisan debate Thursday morning, rejected a controversial bill that would have allocated unclaimed
damage awards from class-action lawsuits to Legal Aid. The 2 p.m. session quickly went on hiatus for a 30-minute Republican caucus.

The House met for a morning floor session and was originally scheduled
to return to the floor 2 p.m. Instead, it adjourned until 9 a.m. Friday.

If the budget bills are released Thursday, the Legislature's main budget committee and a subcommittee could work through the afternoon and night to get them to the House and Senate floors on Friday. If there's bipartisan agreement to fast-track legislation, the Legislature could theoretically adjourn late Friday at the earliest.

If the budget bills aren't released soon, the session could drag into the weekend.

As a last resort, the Senate or House could independently advance budget bills, leaving the other chamber to finalize the work.

Also in play are several policy bills. House Democrats are pushing for the Senate to pass House Bill 4054, which would change the ballot title for a referendum on the November ballot on whether to grant driver cards to Oregonians who can't prove they're here legally.

Lawmakers are also trying to finalize language that would authorize $200 million in bonds for Oregon Health Science University's Knight Cancer Institute.